How we rank
Nobody at Guide2 scores the food. A ranking adds up what a town’s own judges have said in public, and every point on the page links to where they said it.
What counts
| Evidence | What it is | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Readers’ poll | The town’s own vote, such as Best of C-VILLE | Winner 10, runner-up 6, finalist 3, each year |
| Critic’s standing list | A critic’s list of the town’s best restaurants | 8 while the place is on it |
| Local press or critic | A review or story that recommends the place | 3 |
| Local food writer’s list | A local site’s list of the best for this food | 2, more for first, second or third |
| National list | A national site’s list for the town | 1, more for first, second or third |
How it is weighed
Recent verdicts count most: this year and last in full, two to four years ago at a little over half, older than that at under a third. A poll counts each year a place wins it.
Sites with the same owner count once, so one company’s several lists cannot outvote the town. Every quote we cite has to appear word for word on the source page, and every source is listed with its date, the day we checked it, and an archived copy.
Who can be ranked
Only places that are open. Every place on a list is checked at least monthly; one that closes comes off the ranking and is noted under “What changed” with the date.
What does not count
Payment. No restaurant pays to be listed or placed higher, and we do not take requests to change a ranking. Star ratings copied from review sites do not count either.
Where our editors come in
When our editor in a town has eaten somewhere herself, her picks and notes appear at the top of the page, signed and dated, above the ranking. In Charlottesville and Crozet that is Lauren Critzer. A town without its own editor yet is ranked on the evidence alone.
Something wrong? See our corrections policy.